Menoizikul; Midweek Musicalisms

Okay, here's the thing... Along with The Planets, pretty much everything from JS Bach, some Arvo Pärt, music of Tallis (the old and the new), throw in some Sabaton and Jethro Tull, some Chopin and Gershwin... to my desert island playlist must be added what, to me, is the greatest of Verdi's works. Que? 

The Requiem! 

I heard this first in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. I've attended performances of it in Sydney, Brisbane, and again in Sydney. I have three or four different renditions on my playlist... For my ear, it beats the notes off of Mozart's, Brahms, or Fauré's (or the much later Britten). Now, the whole thing is about an hour and a half. I am going to give it to you here, but will whet your appetite first with this little burst from the Deus Irae. The snippet should be enough to get the juices flowing. The whole thing is simply horripilating. Honestly, if you don't get goosebumps from listening to this work, I may have failed...

Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

The week that was...

L-R works by, Paul Furneaux (x3), Michael Docherty (x2), Jo Ganter, Jessica Harrison (sculpture).

Works by, in spiral order from lower left: William Littlejohn, John Bellany, Denis Buchan, Alberto Morrocco, James Downie Robertson,
Earl Haig, David Michie (x2), Joyce W Cairns, John Houston, then centred with J D Robertson, and J Houston.

Menonday Art Vibe; Impact

Last Thursday, I told you of the pop-up exhibition we came across on the Mound Plaza, containing a long visual narration of time spent on the front lines in Ukraine. In that post, I left a link to the JustGiving page, which is aiming for the £10,000 needed to purchase an animal transport vehicle. You can read more about the Pickups for Peace initiative at this link. Scroll down a little to see the info about that vehicle, and you can also donate from there if you are so moved.

Here is the info provided at the open-air photo show, and four of the shots that struck home. This is Art Vibe; aside from the subject, the skill of the photographer, Oleg Petrasiuk, is undeniable. I have deliberately offset the angle of shooting my own photos to contrast his work with the comparable safety that is Edinburgh... the last one, though, deserved full focus. For all its horror, it is truly beautiful.